Monitoring and surveillance program
THE Biosecurity Authority of Fiji’s (BAF) monitoring and surveillance program involves pre-border, border and post border risk mitigation activities.
According to the authority, preborder ensures that biosecurity risks associated with the import of commodities are eliminated at the county of origin before it is exported to Fiji.
These activities include auditing of commodity pathways at the originating country, import risk assessments and biosecurity import specifications that provide guidelines for treatment of commodities.
The authority highlights that on border, activities are carried out at the airports and seaports that include profiling and clearance of vessels, aircraft, passengers, transit cargo and screening of parcels at mail centres, supervision of treatments in the case of non-compliance, supervision of garbage disposal, bonding of foreign animals and monitoring of yachts.
“The main purpose of engaging in this activity is to ensure that all conveyances, persons and cargo arriving into Fiji do not become pathways for the introduction of exotic plant and animal pests and diseases,” the authority stated.
“On post border, activities carried out at the Post Entry Quarantine facilities it includes the monitoring of live imported plants for disease symptoms for a certain period of time.
Further, activities carried out at the Biosecurity Approved Premises (BAPs) include inspection of imported cargo and supervision of treatment. Post border activities also extend into pest surveillance by BAF throughout the Fiji island chain.
On conducting pest surveillance to determine pest incidence in Fiji, the authority highlights that surveillance for exotic pests and diseases is an integral activity undertaken by BAF as an ‘early warning system’.
In the event that exotic pests are found during regular surveillance (or if an incursion is detected), BAF will be able to execute containment and eradication programs in a timely manner to prevent the exotic pest from spreading.
An exotic plant pest that is under the BAF surveillance radar is the fruit flies.
According to the authority, the fruit flies cause considerable damage to several important agricultural commodities.
The BAF fruit fly surveillance operation as highlighted by the authority includes a preparatory phase followed by the field operations phase.
“BAF fruit fly traps are strategically placed in various locations around Fiji. These include areas close to ports of entry (for example jetties, marinas, wharves, airstrips and airports), areas with high foreign visitor arrivals (for example hotels, resorts, embassies, high-class residential zones and industrial points) as well as outer islands (for example islands in the Mamanuca and Yasawa groups).”
Other than the fruit flies, the Red Imported Fire Ants (RIFA), Giant African Snail (GAS) and the Asian Gypsy Moth (AGM) are also exotic pests of concern to the authority. The authority’s prime roles are to protect the borders from the introduction, establishment and spread of exotic pests and diseases in the country.